ABC posted a dominant victory on Sunday evening in Adults 18-49 (3.1/8), beating out runner-up Fox by 24% (2.5/7), third-place NBC by 35% (2.3/6) and fourth-place CBS by 55% (2.0/5). Excluding only the 8 o'clock hour with a repeat "Home Edition," ABC placed No. 1 in 3 of 4 hours of the evening in the key young adult sales demo.

On its first original telecast in 4 weeks (since 3/22/09), "Desperate Housewives" registered as Sunday's No. 1 TV show in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. "Housewives" marked its 18th time in 19 original broadcasts this season to qualify as Sunday's top entertainment series with viewers and young adults.

ABC's repeat "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" was the second-most-watched show in the 8 o'clock hour, outdrawing original competition including the second half of NBC's "Miss USA Pageant" by 1.6 million viewers (7.6 million vs. 6.0 million) and by 29% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/6 vs. 1.7/5). Building its audience from start to finish, at 8:30 p.m. ABC's replay "Home Edition" outdelivered Fox's "Simpsons"-led series debut of "Sit Down, Shut Up" by 2.9 million viewers (8.1 million vs. 5.2 million) and by 9% in Adults 18-49 (2.5/6 vs. 2.3/6).

Despite a 4-week break from originals, "Housewives" matched its highest-rated telecast since early-February in Adults 18-34 (4.1/11) - since 2/8/08.

"Brothers & Sisters" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

On its first original airing in a month (since 3/22/09), ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" delivered the No. 1 position in its time period for the 4th consecutive original telecast across each of the key Adult demos: AD18-34 (2.8/8), AD18-49 (3.3/9-tie) and AD25-54 (4.1/10).

A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 31% currently, from 24% at the same point in 2008. More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next day numbers. The only truly valid year-to-year comparison would be one based on the Live + 7 Day metric, once those stats are released by Nielsen.

Source: Nielsen Media Research (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings), 4/19/09.